The benchmark indices ended lower with the Nifty50 settling below 10,250 and Sensex down over 450 points, the biggest single day fall in 2 months in Thursday's session after Apr-Oct fiscal deficit was reported at Rs 5.25 lakh crore, 96.1% of FY18 budget target.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the derivatives expiry of November series and September quarter GDP data due today. Negative trend seen in Asian markets after a plunge in high-flying technology shares also hurt sentiment.

Meanwhile, economic growth pace is expected to have picked up in Q2, halting a five-quarter slide as businesses started to overcome teething troubles after the bumpy launch of a national sales tax.

A Reuters poll of 52 economists over the past week showed gross domestic product growth likely rose to 6.4% from a year ago in the July-September quarter, from 5.7% in the previous period.

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In broader makrets, the BSE midcap saw the biggest single ay fall in 2 weeks, ending 0.6% lower, While the BSE Smallcap index was a little changed.

3:34 PMMarkets at Close

Benchmark indices ended lower with the Nifty50 settling below 10,250 and Sensex down over 450 points, the biggest single day fall in 2 months in Thursday's session after Apr-Oct fiscal deficit was reported at Rs 5.25 lakh crore, 96.1% of FY18 budget target.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,149, down 453 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 1,226, down 134 points.

3:20 PM

India's Power Fin Corp lists its first green bond on LSE in two decades

India's Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has listed its first international bond in almost two decades on the London Stock Exchange to fund renewable energy projects in the country.

The 10-year dated green bond raised $400 million, paying a 3.75 per cent semi-annual coupon and listed on London Stock Exchange's new International Securities Market (ISM) this week.

"The funds raised will help promote renewable energy projects across the country and aid in achieving the government's target of 175GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022," said PFC chairman Rajeev Sharma. READ MORE

3:11 PM

Interview of the day

Expect 10-12% rise for Sensex, Nifty in the next one year: Sundaram AMC CEO

With the benchmark indices gaining around 26 per cent so far this calendar year (CY17), Sundaram Asset Management Chief Executive Sunil Subramaniam, sayd that fund managers would find it tough to beat the market going ahead, as they would have more challenges to address. He expects a 15-20 per cent growth in the assets under management (AUM) for the industry over the next five years.

IL&FS gained over 6% intraday as investors bet on an award going in the company’s favour.

The company's subsidiary, Pune Sholapur Road Development Company (PSRDC) had invoked arbitration against National Highways Authority of India with respect to development, maintenance, and management of a highway in Maharashtra.

Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) dipped 16% to Rs 116 on the BSE after the company reported 90% fall in its standalone net profit at Rs 80 lakh in September quarter (Q2FY18), due to poor operational performance. It had profit of Rs 7.89 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Total income from operations declined 27% to Rs 326 crore in Q2FY18 against Rs 447 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin down to 5.29% in Q2FY18 from 3.66% in Q2FY17. READ MORE

2:05 PM

Indian banks 2nd only to Chinese counterparts in exposure to risks: Moody's

Indian banks' exposure to risks has risen and is now second only to those in China in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region due to large loans given to businesses having poor repayment capacity, ratings agency Moody's Investors Services has reportedly said.

According to a LiveMint report published on Thursday, the Moody's report said that while India's overall credit penetration remained low, its banks' exposure to corporate borrowers that have poor debt servicing capacity has increased the risks of defaults.

Further, the financial daily said while citing the agency's report, while in India, private sector credit as a percentage of the gross domestic product was the third lowest in the region, a significant part of it was owed by businesses that have poor repayment capacity. Private sector credit also includes debt owed by the private non-financial sector and households. READ MORE

Shares to tea producing companies continued their upward movement on expectation of rise in tea prices on the back of declining production.

Harrison Malayalam and McLeod Russel India were up more than 10% in intraday, while Jay Shree Tea, Kanco Tea, Dhunseri Tea, Goodricke Group, Warren Tea, B&A and Rossell India rose between 5% and 10%, against 0.84% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

In past one month, the stock prices of Goodricke Group, B&A, Diana Tea, Warren Tea and Harrisons Malayalam have zoomed more than 50%, while McLeod Russel India, Jay Shree Tea, Dhunseri Tea, Tata Global Beverages and Kanco Tea were up in the range of 25% to 48% on the BSE. READ MORE

India has standardised itself for a seven-eight per cent growth rate and it will need Rs 50 lakh crore in investments in the next five years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.

Further, stating that 10 per cent growth was a very challenging figure, Jaitley said that such a growth rate does not merely depend on domestic factors. He also said that India would eventually have to fall back on domestic demand.

Jaitley said that each of the government's reforms had a particular direction and that structural changes in the economy had been implemented. READ MORE

1:09 PMMarkets check

At 1:07 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,308, down 294 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,274, down 87 points.

Having seen a 10-fold jump in one year, popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin remains volatile – it continues to make the headlines and be a favorite for many. But the trends in Bitcoin mania have appeared a little confusing since Wednesday, with the cyptocurrency plunging nearly 20 per cent in less than 90 minutes – to a low of $9,009, within hours of crossing the $11,000-mark. On Thursday, again, Bitcoin was trading above the $10,000 mark, according to coinmarketcap.com. READ FULL REPORT

12:31 PMNifty PSU Bank leading sectoral loser

Source: NSE

12:16 PMBuzzing stock

Shankara Building Products (SBPL) hit a new high of Rs 2,081, up 7% on the BSE in an otherwise weak market after the company announced the opening of its 122nd store at Vijayawada.

The stock of a leading organized retailer of home improvement and building products in India has rallied 28% in the past three trading sessions from Rs 1,631 on Monday, as compared to 1% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. READ FULL REPORT

12:03 PMSensex heatmap in noon trade

Source: BSE

11:25 AM

Bajaj Auto hits new high

Bajaj Auto hit a new high of Rs 3,372, up 1.7% on the BSE in intra-day trade in an otherwise weak market. At 10:18 AM; the stock was the top gainer among the Sensex, up 1% at Rs 3,354. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.69% at 33,371.

In past three months, Bajaj Auto has outperformed the market by gaining 22% against 5.5% rise in the benchmark index. READ MORE

11:08 AMMarkets check

At 11:00 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,375, down 227 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,293, down 68 points.

McLeod Russel dipped 6% to Rs 205 on the BSE intra-day trade, extending its Wednesday’s 3% decline, after nearly 10% of total equity of the company changed hands through block deal.

About 10.55 million equity shares representing 9.6% of total equity of McLeod Russel India have changed hands on the BSE, the exchange data shows. READ MORE

10:30 AM

Nearly 70% of stressed SMEs face liquidation

Around 70 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) undergoing insolvency proceedings face liquidation, as their promoters are the only ones presenting resolution plans. The recent ordinance amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) virtually debars promoters from bidding for their stressed assets. READ FULL REPORT

10:14 AMAll but Nifty Realty index are trading in red

Source: NSE

9:49 AM

Oil markets on tenterhooks ahead of OPEC meet

Oil markets opened cautiously on Thursday ahead of the outcome of an OPEC meeting in Vienna later in the day, with members set to debate the path for an extension of the group's supply-cut agreement.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be meeting at its headquarters in the Austrian capital, along with ministers from other oil producing countries, most importantly Russia. READ MORE

9:47 AM

Stocks of credit rating agencies lose sheen

Buoyant credit growth is essential not only for banks but also for credit rating agencies. In fact, demand for loans is their bread and butter. So, until the going was good, shares of CRISIL, CARE Ratings and ICRA were in vogue, even reckoned as all-weather ones.

Lately, however, these are losing the sheen. They underperformed the broader markets in the past 12 months. The twin problem of anaemic loan demand and a nearly 80 per cent reduction in rating subsidies for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) after the Union Budget significantly impacted them since the June quarter. READ FULL REPORT

9:30 AM

Broader markets under pressure

The BSE Midcap and the BSE Smallcap indices shed 0.6% each.

9:28 AMSensex heatmap at open

Source: BSE

9:23 AMMarkets at open

At 9:20 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,448, down 154 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,314, down 47 points.

With a session left in November series, market-wide rollovers moved to 57% which is a tad higher compared to average rollovers of 55% (last three series). Market wide futures OI is ~INR 1.63tn as compared to ~INR 1.62tn on the D-1 of October expiry. Average roll levels across stock futures were ~48-50bps (cost to long rollers) in most of the names.

Nifty futures rollovers stand at 46% which is higher compared to the average rollovers of 42% (last three series). Nifty futures OI stands at INR 271bn (~26.2mn shares) as against the OI of INR 322bn (~31.3mn shares) on D-1 of the last series. Nifty futures roll levels (cost to long rollers) was ~37-38bps (screen levels of ~38points. Around 23.5k contracts got rolled today while ~2.7k contracts were unwound in the near month.

Nifty index failed to surpass 10,400 zones and corrected towards 10,345-mark. It formed a Bearish candle but has been consolidating between 10,340 and 10,410 zones from last four trading sessions. It requires a decisive range breakout to start the next leg of rally. Now it has to continue to hold above 10,350 to witness an up move towards 10,400, and then 10,450, while on the downside supports are seen at 10,300 then 10,250 zones. READ MORE

Bitcoin zoomed past $11,000 to hit a record high for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday after gaining more than $1,000 in just 12 hours, stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion.

After soaring more than 1,000 per cent since the start of the year, bitcoin rose as much as 15 percent on Wednesday, but by mid-afternoon in New York, the virtual currency was trading at $9,500, down 3.7 per cent on the day on Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, one of the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency exchanges. READ MORE

8:54 AM

Wall Street update

The Nasdaq was on pace for its biggest one-day drop in more than three months on Wednesday as investors bailed out of high-flying tech stocks and shifted bets to banks and other pockets of the market that could benefit from improving economic conditions, lower regulations and taxes, and higher interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.78 points, or 0.4% to 23,931.49, the S&P 500 lost 2.61 points, or 0.10% to 2,624.43 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 96.25 points, or 1.39% to 6,816.11.

8:51 AM

Asian markets

Asian shares fell on Thursday, weighed down by a plunge in high-flying technology shares, a move that some see as a healthy correction after a strong rally but others believe may herald the peak of a “super cycle” that has been boosting the sector.

All that happened in the market today

All that happened in the market today

The benchmark indices ended lower with the Nifty50 settling below 10,250 and Sensex down over 450 points, the biggest single day fall in 2 months in Thursday's session after Apr-Oct fiscal deficit was reported at Rs 5.25 lakh crore, 96.1% of FY18 budget target.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the derivatives expiry of November series and September quarter GDP data due today. Negative trend seen in Asian markets after a plunge in high-flying technology shares also hurt sentiment.

Meanwhile, economic growth pace is expected to have picked up in Q2, halting a five-quarter slide as businesses started to overcome teething troubles after the bumpy launch of a national sales tax.

A Reuters poll of 52 economists over the past week showed gross domestic product growth likely rose to 6.4% from a year ago in the July-September quarter, from 5.7% in the previous period.

All that happened in the market today

The benchmark indices ended lower with the Nifty50 settling below 10,250 and Sensex down over 450 points, the biggest single day fall in 2 months in Thursday's session after Apr-Oct fiscal deficit was reported at Rs 5.25 lakh crore, 96.1% of FY18 budget target.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the derivatives expiry of November series and September quarter GDP data due today. Negative trend seen in Asian markets after a plunge in high-flying technology shares also hurt sentiment.

Meanwhile, economic growth pace is expected to have picked up in Q2, halting a five-quarter slide as businesses started to overcome teething troubles after the bumpy launch of a national sales tax.

A Reuters poll of 52 economists over the past week showed gross domestic product growth likely rose to 6.4% from a year ago in the July-September quarter, from 5.7% in the previous period.